Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Shadows of Ganderosa

Chapter 7

Team Force


Dillan was in a big room. The walls were filled with paintings. Most were blurred as if there was a kind of warp in reality that prevented Dillan from seeing the art that the canvas held. Other pictures were as clear as day. There was also a row of canvases that hadn't been painted yet.

Dillan walked to one of the pictures he could make out. It was labelled, "True Friends". It was a picture of Ryan, Hazel, and him. They were walking away from a town. The sun cast rays on light towards their faces. They looked content. Each one of them were smiling.

Dillan then looked at another picture. All of Team Rapture were in this one. They were along a gravel path. There were grassy plains stretching towards a set of mountains. Dillan was exhaling flames. His face seemed concerned, as if he wanted to say something and the fire gushed out like his emotions he had held inside of himself. Hazel looked at him with a worried expression. Ryan was sitting on the gravel, looking in awe as he watched the flames come forth from his mouth.

He moved on to the last picture before all of the white ones. Team Rapture was in a room that had bones across the floor. Hazel and Ryan were at an exit to the cave. Ryan was in front of Hazel, his cheeks flared with blue electricity. Hazel was behind him. She was holding her bloody arm as she watched two sandslash come closer. Her face was stricken with fear. Dillan wasn't with them. He was at the front of the picture. He was cowering as three sandslash encircled him.

What is this room?

"Do you really want to know?" A mystical, female voice called out from behind Dillan. Dillan whipped backwards to face the voice.

He saw a pokemon that had a kind of white dress. It had a pink disk emerge from the middle of her chest, almost as if she was skewered with it. It's body was tin and slender. The pokemon had green banks of hair covering the front of her face. Her purple eyes were visible in parts of her hair.

"Well?" the Gardevoir asked.

"Who are you?" Dillan asked.

"My real name must remain unknown for the time being, but you may call me Reya."

"Why can't you tell me your real name?"

Reya thought about it for about three seconds, contemplating what her next words would be. She then said, "I cannot tell you."

"Why?" Dillan asked, even more confused than before.

"Please, we don't have much time..."

"Before what?"

"Let me speak to you while I still can."

Dillan was flooded with questions. He wanted to know where he was, where his friends were, who she was. "Alright then." Dillan said. "But I have one condition."

"What is it?"

"I listen to you and then you answer my questions."

She looked at him with a concerned expression. She then said, "You will only ask five questions and no more. though, I can't guarantee you that I will be able to answer them."

"Fine. Go on."

"I come from a great distance to deliver you a quest. You wish to know more about your past, first you must understand why you are here."

"You know about my past?" Dillan said. He no longer cared what she had to say. he just wanted his memories back.

"Dillan." Reya said sternly. "Remember, you may only ask me questions when I am finished. That was our agreement. The more time you waist interrupting me, the less time you give me to answer."

"Fine. So why am I here?"

"You must figure that out on your own." She said.

What? She can't be serious!

"I am only here to point you in the right direction." Reya told him. "You must go to the Castle Ruins in the Alka Territory. There, you must find-"

A wave of nausea washed over Dillan. The room seemed to fluctuate for a second.

"What was that?" Dillan asked.

"I do not have any more time!" Reya said. She was talking quicker. She sounded rushed. "I will contact you when I can! Dillan. Go to the Castle Ruins and fi-"

The room fluctuated; this time was more violent than the last. Dillan blacked out.


He woke up with sweat all over his head. He was breathing rapidly. He looked around and found himself in the burrow he had dug. Hazel wasn't there. Ryan was asleep, he was sprawled out on the dirt.

What was that? Was that a dream? That lady... Reya... She told me to go to the Castle Ruins... Right?

Dillan got up and walked out side. The sun was shinning brightly. It felt a little warmer than normal. Dillan didn't mind it, though. The heat waves felt nice on his scales. Hazel was sitting on the grass, digging through her bag. Her arm was still bandaged up, though she didn't look pained by moving it. The bandage had blood stains on it.

Dillan came up to her and sat down. Hazel glanced up at him from her bag and said, "Sleep well?"

"Uh..." What should I say? Should I tell her about my dream? I don't know. She might think I ate something last night...

"It was good." he told her. It wasn't a lie, seeing as it wasn't a nightmare. It just wasn't the whole truth. No... I'm still deceiving her... I can't just justify it like that.

"That's good." Hazel said. "At least someone slept well."

"Why do you say that?" Dillan asked.

"Well, Ryan woke up yelling which in turn woke me up. I was shocked you slept through it. Anyways, he wouldn't tell me what his dream was about. I could tell it bothered him. I couldn't get to sleep after that. I've just been out here, watching the sun rise."

"That sucks..." Dillan said.

"What part?"

"Hey." Ryan called from behind. The two pokemon looked at him.

"Hi." Hazel said.

"Hello." Dillan told him.

"You guys ready to go?" Ryan asked the two.

"I'm good." Dillan said. "How about you Hazel?"

"I'm ready," she started. "just let me get some breakfast out. We can eat while we walk."

Hazel looked through her bag. She pulled out three blue berries. She tossed one to Ryan and held another out to Dillan. Dillan skewered it wit his claw like a kabob. He then started eating it. Each bite tasted sweeter than the last.

"By the way Hazel," Ryan started. "how's your arm doing?"

Hazel looked at the bandages. She moved her arm, trying to get a pulse of pain from it.. She then burned the cloth on her arm. Dillan instinctually grimaced at the sight of Hazel torching her arm, though she didn't seem bothered by it. The cloth disintegrated, leaving her arm bare. It looked fine. There was a scar, but that was all that was left.

"It's fine." she said with a smile. "Thanks again for last night."

"Don't mention it." Ryan said as he took another bite out of the berry. "Now then, let's get a move on. We've got a few hours of walking before we get to Kerroshia."

With that, Hazel and Dillan stood up. Dillan left the burrow as it was as if it was a sign that said, "Dillan's been here". Team Rapture departed down the gravel path.


After about three hours of walking, Dillan felt full of energy. He couldn't tell why. Usually, he couldn't walk for more than two hours without feeling a little drained, yet now he felt like walking another hour or two. Maybe it was the warmth touching his scales in waves.

"There's the river!" Hazel said to her team.

She was right. There was a river ahead and a bridge that went over it. Dillan was intrigued by what he saw on the other side of the bridge. There was sand, an ocean of it. It went on as far as the eye could see.

"That's so cool!" Dillan exclaimed. "How is it we're standing on grass, but then on the other side of the bridge, sand?"

"It's a natural phenomenon." Hazel said. "No one knows why it's like that, just that it is. There are myths that say there's a pokemon that keeps it this way. Though, I can't remember how the myth goes."

"Well, let's get this over with." Ryan said in a worried tone.

"What's wrong, Ryan?" Dillan said.

"I don't like sand." he said. "It screws with my electric attacks. It makes it easier for my opponents to disperse my electrical attacks into the sand."

"Well," Hazel began with a smile. "no use in worrying about that. We need to keep moving forward. Just let me get some water for the journey."

They walked across the bridge and into Kerroshia. Hazel went down to the river. She took six canteens out of her bag and started filling them with water. It was then that Dillan had realized something.

"Hazel," he started. "how is it that you can store so much in your bag?"

Hazel looked at him with a smile and said, "It's a Wonder Bag! I'm not sure how it works, but you can fit just about everything in here. The only flaw is you can't put something that's bigger than the opening of the bag into it, but I guess even the most useful items have their flaws."

Just then something flew by and took Hazel's bag off of the ground. It flew around and landed a few feet down the river. There was a group of pokemon standing there. The flyer dropped the bag in front of what looked like the leader. It was a muscular, bipedal, purple pokemon with red stripes along his arms. It had black underwear on, which made it look less intimidating. The muscular pokemon was about six-feet tall. It also had some kind of short, tan mohawk on it's head. The pokemon to the leader's left was hovering in the air. It was just a head with floating hands at it's side. It didn't have arms. It was purple and had it's mouth open in a malicious smile. It's tongue was hanging out. That with it's large, tri-angular eyes made the pokemon look crazy. The flying pokemon flew to the Machoke's right and stood there. It's feathers were a mixture of black, white, and grey. It's head was black with some white around it's face like a kimono girl would have, except it's beak was orange. The staravia looked at the machoke expectantly. The haunter just stared at Dillan.

"Hey!" Hazel cried out to the group of thieves. She stopped almost immediately when the machoke's eyes met Hazel's.

Ryan ran over to them and stood feet from their, well, feet. He looked at the machoke's face. It didn't seem to notice Ryan. It just stared at Hazel.

"Down here!" Ryan called to the machoke. It looked at him. "That's our stuff! Give it back before I-"

"Before you what?" the Haunter said. She had a feminine voice of a psycho. "Immobilize us with your adorable looks?" She talked to Ryan like he was three.

"Get lost, tiny!" the machoke said. His voice was very deep. He then kicked Ryan in the chest. Ryan flew in an arch and landed in the river.

Ryan struggled to keep himself afloat. He yelled, "Help!"

Hazel and Dillan realized what he was saying immediately. They both went to help him when the staravia swooped down and plucked him out of the water. It then dropped him in front of his team. Ryan hit the ground and stood up. He shook of the water from his fur and went to confront the machoke. Hazel grabbed his arm and kept him there. Ryan started hurling profanity at the group.

"Save it pipsqueak." the staravia said. Her voice had a profound touch to it, yet Dillan knew she acted nothing like she sounded. "We aren't here for you!"

"Who are you guys?" Dillan asked through gritted teeth. He was getting tired of the way they were treating his teammates.

The machoke put on a look of fake-shock. "You mean," he began. "Sig hasn't told you about us?" He then took a few steps forward. "Sig, I thought we were friends."

"We were, Dean!" Hazel shouted. "Why don't you take your team and just go!"

"I would," Dean said. "but then I couldn't introduce myself to pipsqueak and your other buddy!"

"Who you calling 'pipsqueak'!" Ryan shouted.

"Hey." Dillan started walking up to Dean. With every step he took, he felt as though Dean was getting bigger. When he was next to him, Dean was about a head taller then him, not to mention how massive his muscles were compared to his sticks for arms. He immediately felt insignificant.

"What is it, blue?" Dean said as he smiled from above him. "You aren't a scaredy-skitty, are you?"

Dillan opened his mouth, but nothing came out. He just stood there, realizing how big a mistake he had made when confronted with this behemoth.

The haunter then fazed through Dean's body and shrieked in front of Dillan. Dillan instinctively fell backwards and landed on his fin. Pain surged through him as he felt it bend. It then remained firm, and Dillan leaned on it.

"Nice one, Jess!" Dean said to the haunter. They both exploded into laughter.

"THAT'S IT!" Ryan yelled. He broke free of Hazel and rushed Dean. His cheeks started sparking with blue electricity. A bolt of energy emerged from Ryan's body and flew towards Dean. Dean grabbed Dillan by the leg and threw him towards the lightning. Dillan collided with it, but it only tingled Dillan's insides. Dillan landed on the floor in front of Ryan. Dean then rushed them. He grabbed Ryan and planted his feet in the sand. Dean had a grin of malice on his face. Ryan jolted him with electricity, but it dispersed into the ground. Dean then started squeezing Ryan's skull. Ryan started screaming from the pain that was being exerted.

"STOP!" Hazel yelled. "Stop Dean! Take the bag, take anything! Just don't kill him!"

"Kill him?" Dean said. "I'm not gonna kill him, just teach him a lesson!"

"Get him Dean!" Jess said from behind her leader.

"STOP!" Ryan's pleas for mercy were muffled from the big hand around his head. "PLEASE STOP!"

"You gonna be any trouble?" Dean asked.

"NO!" Ryan yelled. "NO! JUST PLEASE STOP SQUEEZING! I CAN'T BREATHE!"

Dean dropped Ryan on top of Dillan. The pachirisu breathed very rapidly. He was shaking very badly. He held his paws to his head.

"Now then," Dean said. "I, am Dean," He gave a bow. "the haunter is Jess," She gave a wink and a maniacal laugh as she joined her leader on his left. "and the staravia is Hailey." She flew to her leader's right side. "We're Team Force! Don't make one mistake in thinking we are your equals. You losers are nothing compared to us!"

"Dean," Hazel said. "what do you want?"

"Nothing much." Dean answered. "Just to see how our dear friend Sig is doing."

"Boss," Hailey said to Dean. "the mission."

"Oh, right." Dean said with a smirk. "You'll have to excuse us. It's a long way to the Alkan forest. We'll be taking our leave."

"Aw!" Jess moaned. "We just got here! Plus we made some new friends! Can't we stay for five more minutes!"

Hailey gave Jess the death stare. "You know our mission comes first!" Jess just stuck her tongue out at Hailey.

"We'll see you later Sig!" Dean said as he walked over the bridge. He left Hazel's bag on the sand. "Have fun with Skitty and Pipsqueak!" With that, the team was gone.

Ryan was still shaking when he got off of Dillan. He started walking a couple of feet, then sat down.

Dillan stood up and faced Hazel.

"Sig?" he asked. "You know them? What just happened?"

"W-Well..." Hazel started. "I-I do know two of them... Dean and Hailey..."

"Let me guess." Ryan said with a voice that was between pained and scared. "They were the ones that left you."

Hazel nodded. "We use to be friends," She said. "then they met a bad group of pokemon and changed... See, we grew up in Labensia Castle together... Me, Dean, and Hailey. We use to talk about making an exploration team together... I got everything we needed for it. That's when they moved to Fericia Castle. I couldn't stand the idea that we wouldn't be able to be a team. So, on my sixteenth birthday, my parents sent me to live with my grand-parents in Fericia Castle so I could follow my dream. When I saw Dean and Hailey, they had changed. They were mean, though I didn't want to except they were different.

"Well, when we were gonna apply for the Guild together. They ditched me... They said it was because of my lack of taste." Hazel started to tear up. "They took all of the supplies and left me alone... I broke down for weeks.

"Wait." Dillan interrupted. "I thought your father lived in Fericia Castle."

"No. I said he had a berry farm outside of the castle.

"Anyways, after a few months, I heard a rumor of two kids about my age that had stumbled into the castle. They were injured and based on their wounds, they were in a big fight. I thought maybe if I befriended them, they would want to join an Exploration Team with me... That's why I was in the hospital... To see you two..."

"Hazel," Ryan walked over to her. He was no longer shaking. "Don't feel bad about those losers ditching you. They don't deserve someone as cool as you on their team. Besides, if they didn't leave you, you wouldn't have met us. So, wipe away those tears."

She did as she was told. She then smiled and gave Ryan a hug. Ryan looked just a bit uncomfortable, but he was getting use to the sudden embraces thrusted upon him.

"Now then," Ryan started. Hazel let go of him. "let's move on. We've got a long way to go until we get to Kerroshia."

The team stood up. Hazel went to grab her bag. Team Rapture set off again to Poltress Town.


When the group made their way over What was it now? The fifteenth sand dune?, their eyes set on a small town. It looked like a ghost town. There was a big hole at the front of the town. Dillan thought about what that could have been for.

"There's Poltress!" Ryan said. Hazel's face whitened, which is saying something considering that her scales were normally red.

"L-Let's just move quickly." Hazel stuttered.

"Why?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe she's right." Dillan said. "I'm not sure that town looks very friendly." Hazel quickly nodded in agreement.

"Alright," Ryan said. "but you guys are acting strange."

The team walked onwards. Dillan wanted to ask Hazel why she was acting so strangely. He didn't really believe something was wrong with Poltress. He just said that because he didn't want Hazel feeling even more uncomfortable.

When they got near the town, Dillan started feeling something ominous in the air. It was like the very wind wanted to escape the town that lied before Team Rapture. Dillan could see why.

The houses had cob webs all over every crevice. Walls were knocked inwards. Rubble was in the streets. Some houses weren't even houses, but a pile of rock and wood. All of the colored roofs were faded. Nothing looked nice. Every house had one thing wrong with it, if not two.

Dillan walked cautiously. He closed his eyes to find his 'Miracle Sense', but it was no use. He knew he couldn't use it outside of a cave. Oh, well. It was worth a shot.

The team found themselves in what looked like the town square. It had a statue of a pokemon standing on a pedestal that was about two feet tall. The statue itself looked about four feet. It was a bipedal pokemon. It's head looked like it also served as the body. It had arms and stubby legs. The pokemon's head was fat. It's mouth reminded Dillan of Jess from before, with her wide grin of malice. It's eyes were the one thing that stood out to Dillan. It's expression was that of a grinning psycho.

"We're in the middle of town." Ryan pointed out. He didn't seem bothered by the statue. Hazel, however, eyed it with a suspicious glance.

"Then we're half-way through?" she asked.

"Yep." Ryan responded. "This way, guys."

Team Rapture went around the statue. Dillan watched it's eyes. They seemed to follow his movements. Dillan figured the state of the town was starting to get to him. That's when he felt worse. He felt uncomfortable, as if eyes were watching him and his teammates. They looked unsure as well. Hazel picked up the pace. Ryan and Dillan followed. The exit to the town was in sight now. Finally. I can't stand this town. That's when it happened.

A pokemon came out of an alley. It couldn't be described as a bipedal or quadrupedal pokemon, seeing as it stood on four stubby feet that protruded from its base and it had arms farther up its body. The pokemon had wavy lips that made a zigzag on it's face. Its eyes were squinting. It had a black tail coming from behind its base. The tail had big, white eyes on the front. The pokemon's body was skinny around the waist and came up like a balloon to its big head.

The wobbuffet stood there, motionless. It didn't speak. It seemed to have a stare down with the team. Hazel looked at it with fear. She took a step backwards.

"Who are you?" Dillan asked the wobbuffet.

No response.

Ryan walked up to it. He tried to go around the pokemon. The wobbuffet stepped in front of Ryan before he could pass. Ryan tried again with the same outcome.

"What's the deal?" Ryan asked. The wobbuffet's reluctance to let him pass annoyed Ryan.

The wobbuffet didn't speak.

Dillan heard cackling from behind him. He flew around to face the culprit. He didn't see anyone or anything, just the path they had taken to get there.

"Move." Ryan commanded. "Now."

No response.

Dillan finally took notice of Hazel's expression. He asked her, "What's wrong?"

"T-That…" she stammered. "Thing is a w-wobbuffet!" She sounded ready to scream.

"So?" Dillan asked.

"So it's annoying!" Ryan said. He directed his words more to the wobbuffet than Dillan.

"N-No." Hazel said. "I-It's a G-Ghost type!"

"So?" Ryan asked.

"That m-means the rumors a-are true about Polt-tress town…"

"No it doesn't! Wobbuffet's a psychic type!" Ryan said as he tried to step around the pokemon again. It blocked his path again.

Dillan was confused.

"Is that why you've been acting so strange?" Ryan asked. "Because of some lame rumor?"

"No!" Hazel shouted. Dillan looked back at her. She was not yelling at Ryan. Dillan looked on with horror.

A big pokemon was grabbing Hazel by the arm. It had a massive body and no legs. It had some kind of swirl protruding from its underside. It had a massive mouth on its stomach that opened its yellow lips wide. It also had a white head on the top with a single, red eye glowing from a wide, black socket.

Ryan rushed the dusknoir, or at least he tried to. A chain snaked its way from the wobbuffet's foot and attached itself to Ryan's arm. It wouldn't let him go.

"What in Arceus' name-" he said as he looked at the chain that now tethered him to the wobbuffet.

"You can't leave me, yet!" the wobbuffet finally spoke up. Its voice was higher than normal, masculine, and rough. "We haven't played!"

Dillan looked at Hazel who was now screaming as the dusknoir started dragging her into an alley on the left. Dillan watched in horror.

Ryan looked at the wobbuffet. "Let go of me!" he said. His cheeks started sparking as a jolt of electricity flew through the air in an arc towards the blue pokemon. The wobbuffet's body suddenly turned into a glossy surface. When the bolt hit, wobbuffet seemed to absorb it.

"What the-" Ryan began. He didn't get to finish his sentence. The wobbuffet started glowing as a bright beam shot out from its chest towards Ryan. He tried to move, but he had forgotten about the chain which restricted his movements. The beam hit him in the face. Ryan gave a yelp of pain as the blast pushed his body forwards, but the chain held him in position. Dillan couldn't imagine how painful that was for Ryan. When the blast finished, Ryan was on his knees, panting.

Stop standing here! You can help! You need to! Dillan finally got over the shock. He knew what to do, he just didn't know which of his friends to help. Hazel was screaming from the dusknoir as he was about to disappear into the shadows of the alley. Ryan was struggling to get back up. The blast had obviously hurt him.

Ryan looked at Dillan and yelled, "Stop wasting time! Go after Hazel!"

Dillan looked to Hazel. He rushed forwards to the dusknoir. Ryan then yelled. Dillan stopped and looked towards Ryan. He was surrounded by floating, black heads with purple smoke irradiating off of their very skin.. They were all bombarding Ryan. Dillan ran towards Ryan. That's when Hazel's screams dissipated. He looked towards the alley to find Hazel was gone. Ryan's yelling started sounding more fearful. Dillan looked towards the pachirisu. The onslaught had ended. Dillan couldn't get a view of his friend. His adrenaline kicked in. His fins glowed and extended into a Dragon Claw. Dillan started shouting as he ran towards the horde of pokemon. They turned towards him. That's when Dillan noticed the large beady eyes that looked like a permanent scowl. They're mouths were in an evil smile, revealing two lone fangs. They started to float higher in the air and above Dillan. Dillan looked at the wobbuffet. It was gone. So was Ryan. Fear started taking hold of the gabite. He looked left, then right. He frantically called out to Ryan.

"He won't hear you!" the ghastly called out in unison from above Dillan. "He's gone! But don't worry! You'll be joining him soon!"

Dillan was terrified. The ghastly started charging him. Dillan's instincts kicked in like they had in Void Canyon. He started shoveling sand as fast as he could with his claws. The sand acted as a sort of smoke screen. It pelted multiple ghastly in the eyes. They started screaming in pain. The ones that weren't affected still came towards Dillan, but he didn't give them the chance to take him. Dillan kept digging. He went through the sand like it was air. He kept shoveling sand behind him. He started blocking the hole he had come from. Dillan held his breath out of fear as he made a ninety degree turn and started going north. He made a few random changes in his direction to the point that Dillan didn't know where he was going. His miracle sense was back, but he wasn't paying attention. His brain was on auto pilot. Dillan kept digging.

He dug for about five more minutes before stopping. He finally remembered to breath, yet he couldn't. He had blocked off his air flow. Dillan started digging upwards. When he reached the surface, he started to hyperventilate. After he was back to breathing normally, he looked around. He was outside of Poltress. He looked at the place in horror. What did I just do... Ryan and Hazel are there... Why did I leave?

"Arceus!" Dillan yelled. he didn't know what it meant, but he had heard his team say it multiple times, so it felt right. I left Hazel and Ryan! I could have saved one of them! I hesitated! Why did I hesitate?! Now they're both gone! All because I couldn't make a decision... Dillan moped around. The sun was starting to go down. He looked at the town. The shadows were facing him, making Poltress look as though an ominous shadow was over the town. What now? Dillan sat in silence. The sun no longer felt good. It felt cold. He fingered the sapphire that hung from his neck. He then looked at his bandanna. It was his reminder of his team. They shared the same symbol and the same team. The sapphire star started to pull at Dillan's neck. It felt like it was leaning ever so slightly towards Poltress.

Dillan looked at the town. What am I doing? Why am I giving up? Hazel is probably terrified and Ryan's probably getting himself into more trouble. My teammates need me! They're counting on me! I can't just surrender! Dillan stood up. He touched his claw towards the sapphire. He felt the fear lingering in the back of his mind, but the sudden thoughts of hope filled him with courage. Dillan started trudging onwards, knowing that whatever was lurking in the town was not going to stop him from saving his team.


Author's Notes:

Hey guys! MasterKnight here! Just wanted to give a shout out to KALIFEO over at Deviant Art! He did the cover art for my stories. (He doesn't have much as of 10?17?2017; only my requests. Give him a llama anyways! ;D) A special thanks to KALIFEO!

"Stories?!" you may ask. Yes. I brought back the prologues except this time, they are in a separate story. This is for people who want to get an idea of the history of Ganderosa. Ironically, it is called "Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: The History of Ganderosa".

Thanks again for reading! A special shout out for the fans of the story (DiegoAvmor, KALIFEO, and Ralmon) as well as the followers (Something dictionary related, The Unimaginitive One, avidreader-everafter, and jakeroo123)! You guys are the reason I keep writing this story! (This is the list as of 10/17/2017)

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

(P. S. PM me if you don't want to be mentioned)